“I think it’s so unfair what happened to him,” Mourinho told the Manchester Evening News of Ibrahimovic’s lay-off. “Sometimes football is unfair, sometimes life is unfair, I think it’s so unfair.

“This night would be an amazing night if he was on the pitch, in his hometown, in the stadium where his statue will be, his first club when he left Sweden, his actual club in Manchester United, a season where he made an amazing impact, I’m really, really, really sorry Zlatan has not played this final.